The three of them descended the fire escape stairs all the way down, arriving at the underground parking lot on the lowest level.
The moment they stepped onto Basement Level 1, Ying Xian immediately stopped and spread her arms, signaling the two behind her not to proceed any further.
“Something’s wrong.”
“There must be a reason the Organization sent us here,” Ying Xian said.
“Did you sense something?” Kong Ling asked.
“The aura of Extradimensional Beasts… it’s very strong,” Ying Xian lowered her body to listen to the fluctuations coming from deep below. “And there’s quite a number of them.”
“What do we do then?” Miao Ke’er asked anxiously.
Kong Ling frowned and asked, “Ying Xian, how far away do you think the beasts are from us?”
“There’s some distance; it should be deeper than the underground parking lot. I suspect the beasts have built a nest beneath the ground,” Ying Xian analyzed.
“The intelligence reports show no large caves nearby, so the nest’s entrance is likely inside the parking garage. Let me report to our superiors first.” Kong Ling pulled out her phone to relay the information.
After a short while, Kong Ling received a reply. “The Organization wants us to continue investigating. We’ll have to be even more careful moving forward.”
“Continue? Do you think the few of us can really handle these beasts?” Miao Ke’er was about to back out.
“Although the beasts’ aura is thick, there shouldn’t be any above Duke-Class. The highest might be Earl-level. The three of us should be able to handle them,” Ying Xian reassured.
Pushing open the sealed door, Ying Xian led them into the underground parking lot.
“Let’s move,” Kong Ling grasped Miao Ke’er’s hand and walked forward.
Their magic wands illuminated the surroundings. The vast parking lot was sparsely filled with a few long-abandoned private cars.
Their tires were deflated, and their shells dented, resembling the skeletons of those who had starved to death.
Ying Xian examined the marks on the ground. The dust-covered floor was covered with dragging marks. “One, two, three… no, at least over a hundred…”
Countless drag marks crisscrossed, like a haphazard abstract painting.
A few roars came from the depths, sounding almost like sobs.
“What’s that up ahead…?”
The three shone their lights toward the distance.
Here, the ground had cracked and collapsed, forming a gigantic pit.
“Looks like this is it,” Kong Ling whispered, a faint breeze blowing past her ears from within the pit.
Ying Xian took out her device to measure the readings.
“The anomaly index is as high as 160 points.” She took a deep breath. “Impossible. Could my feeling be wrong? Or is the device malfunctioning?”
“What does that mean?” Miao Ke’er asked fearfully.
“Did you forget what they taught us in class?” Ying Xian glanced back at Miao Ke’er.
Kong Ling immediately pulled out an Emergency Communicator and reported directly to the Central Magic Administration Bureau of Zhonghe Province Headquarters.
“Five points — Soldier-class, fifteen — Knight-class, thirty — Baron-level, sixty — Earl-level, ninety — Duke-class, one hundred fifty — Kingdom-class.”
Retracting the instrument, Ying Xian spoke slowly.
“There might be a Kingdom-Class Extradimensional Beast down there. Before things take a turn for the worse, with our current abilities, we should evacuate as soon as possible.”
Whether it was an illusion or not, the air around them grew increasingly cold.
Kong Ling paced back and forth. “Alright, alright… Please dispatch the main forces quickly. We’ll evacuate immediately.” She replied into the communicator.
At the same time, at the Zhonghe Province Magic Administration Bureau Headquarters, Ma Xinyin was communicating with them.
“160 points? Are you sure your measurements are accurate?” Ma Xinyin asked in surprise.
The voice on the other end replied, “We measured multiple times. The reading is correct.”
“Alright, I’ll send reinforcements immediately. You must leave the area as soon as possible.”
Suddenly, another female voice shouted, “Wait, what is that thing!?”
“Ahhhh!”
The communication ended with a scream…
“Damn it! What’s going on!?”
Ma Xinyin hurriedly moved to the side of her office, dialing a rotary phone with one hand while pulling out her phone with the other to call her assistant.
Damn it, Luo Xi wasn’t around right now. If it really was a Kingdom-Class Extradimensional Beast, it would be difficult to completely exterminate it without an S-Class Magical Girl.
“Director, what’s the situation?”
“Hurry and notify all deployable Magical Girl squads in Zhonghe Province to stand by in Baiyun County Area 12. I’m hanging up now.”
The rotary phone connected.
“Xiao Ma, what’s the matter?” A strong male voice came through the line.
“No time to explain. Please instruct the superiors to dispatch troops to Baiyun County. We suspect a Kingdom-Class Extradimensional Beast has been found there!”
“Ah? I’ll notify the Staff Department immediately. Make sure your people contain the situation and prevent it from escalating. Now give me a detailed report…”
The Magic Administration Bureau building suddenly buzzed with activity, countless Magical Girls gathered in the target area.
In the deep mountains, several J-10 Fighter Jets took off immediately, carrying Large-Yield Bombs.
“Awooo—”
Luo Zhizhou stretched.
He was sitting on the intercity train.
Suddenly, the screen on the train, which had been off, turned on.
“Currently, all train services heading to Baiyun County, Shanglin County, Heping County, and Zhouqiu County are canceled. We sincerely apologize to all affected passengers.”
“What the heck?”
Luckily, his train was headed to the Provincial Capital and wasn’t affected.
Today was August 29th. Ever since his retirement, Luo Zhizhou had made a habit of visiting the National Cemetery in Jing’an City to pay respects on this day.
He looked up at the sky and saw several fighter jets trailing long contrails as they flew by.
“Is this some kind of exercise?” Luo Zhizhou wondered but then paid it no further mind.
As the train neared the outskirts of Jing’an City, construction sites lined the way. Luo Zhizhou marveled at how rapidly the city had developed in the past two years.
In response to the national initiative, Jing’an City had launched a greening campaign this year, planting many large trees along the roads. The city looked completely refreshed.
“Much nicer than the last time I was here.”
Luo Zhizhou took out his phone and snapped a photo.
After a few more minutes, the train arrived at his stop.
Luo Zhizhou got off the train. He hadn’t brought much this time.
Transferring to a bus, Luo Zhizhou continued toward his destination.
Unlike the small countryside village, this big city was packed with people everywhere, the crowds flowing endlessly. Luo Zhizhou quite liked this bustling atmosphere.
In his life, moments like these had been brief but warm.
“Jing’an Street No. 1 Station, arriving.”
Luo Zhizhou reached his destination.
There were no large buildings nearby, and the crowd thinned. The skyscrapers stood across the river.
This was a large park and a national scenic area, where the National Cemetery was also located.
It would not disturb the souls resting here.
“I should bring something.” Luo Zhizhou found a supermarket, bought a bottle of baijiu, and grabbed a few plastic cups.
Entering the cemetery, the place was cold and quiet, with hardly anyone around.
In the center of the flowerbed at the entrance stood a massive Memorial Monument, inscribed with “In memory of the soldiers who have defended the homeland over the past twenty years, may their honor endure forever.”
The monument was erected two years ago, with fresh bouquets laid in front of it.
Luo Zhizhou approached the monument, glanced at it briefly, and then walked deeper into the cemetery.